Barbet Schroeder, the acclaimed international director responsible for Barfly Our Lady Of The Assassins and Reversal Of Fortune, is to be the godfather of the Critics' Week sidebar at Cannes.

Schroeder, (pictured at left, on the set of his latest directorial effort, Murder By Numbers) will be honoured by a screening of his debut effort More from 1969, on Sunday May 19. The same day, he will also take part in a seminar about new directions in cinema.

The section has made it a tradition to invite back successful film-makers whose first features premiered in the Critics' Week. Previous godfathers have included Ken Loach and Bernardo Bertolucci.

'I was a little surprised and a little embarrassed when they asked me to be godfather to the section, in the same way that I was a little surprised and embarrassed when I was told that I was going to become a grandfather,' said Schroeder. 'In both cases, I resigned myself to being pleased about it.'